Watching this event was gratifying and bitter for anyone who has come in contact with Ukraine’s education system or its products.
On the one hand, it’s wonderful to know that bright, young Ukrainians have an opportunity to study courses designed and taught at top universities of the world.
Pinchuk’s event brought together the likes of billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates, Massachusetts Institute of Technology president L. Rafael Reif and Daphne Koller and Sebastian Thrun, founders of online leaning websites, among others.
But listening to these people discuss the challenges that online learning presents to traditional universities is almost like hearing a voice from another planet. In this nation, basic problems have been ignored for years.
Ukraine ranks 8th among 142 countries by the number of students enrolled in higher education. But quantity does not mean quality. Ukraine ranks 55th by quality and various business surveys consistently show that employers are growing unhappier.
Poor education quality may be a problem today, but it’s a disaster-in-waiting tomorrow. The nations that want to remain competitive in the global market have no choice but to invest into people and their development. A country’s economic performance goes hand-in-hand with the quality of its education.
But we’re seeing the opposite. Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk is unsuitable. Hated by educators and marred by corruption scandals, he has taken education backwards. Universities have little autonomy over both their finances and curriculum.
Online education may be a breath of fresh air for some gifted youngsters, but it is incapable of making a revolution in the conventional education sector. Perhaps, Pinchuk and other influential figures should work harder to bring it on.
